


Silent Chambers of the Soul   Part 5

by Kellygirl



Category: Firefly
Genre: Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-06-24
Updated: 2003-06-24
Packaged: 2019-04-29 08:10:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14468526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kellygirl/pseuds/Kellygirl
Summary: The crew is back together but some things have changed.





	Silent Chambers of the Soul   Part 5

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Firefly’s Glow](https://fanlore.org/wiki/Firefly%27s_Glow), and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Firefly's Glow collection profile](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/fireflysglow/profile).

 

Silent Chambers of the Soul Part 5

## Silent Chambers of the Soul Part 5

Silent Chambers of the Soul Part 5  
Kellygirl  
Archive: That's fine, just let me know where. Notes: Firefly and it's characters are not mine. They belong to Joss Whedon and ME. No money is being made. 

Feedback is great, send it if you got it. 

Mal sees the small girl lying on the bed but can barely believe it. Her hair's a little shorter but it's her. Like that, some of his guilt and sadness at not saving these two back on Jiangyen goes away. Not all of it, but it feels like he can breathe a little easier. He looks at Simon, who seems to be in shock. Mal grabs Badger, making sure not to get any blood on his clothes. 

"Go on Simon, wake her. I'll hold onto Badger for you." Simon's eyes are wide, almost like he was going to panic, but he steps forward and sits next to River on the small bed. His hand is shaking as he rests it lightly on her head. At his touch she stirs but doesn't waken. 

"Mei-mei? Wake up. Please wake up." She stirs again, her eyes opening and sees them all. It only takes her a moment before her eyes lock onto Simon. She smiles and sits up, the light yellow dress she's wearing making her skin look pale and fragile. 

"Simon! I knew you would come! This time I knew you would be back for me. No doubts made me strong." She frowns and gasps, "Sad Simon, all broken and hollow. Shell games are for suckers but you won." 

Even though he can't see Simon's face Mal can hear his breath catch and release on a sob. He looks away as brother and sister hug and hang on like they don't plan to let go. He shakes the man in his grip. 

"You said you had a doc giving her drugs?" At Badger's nervous nod he grits out. "Fine, we want all records of what drugs, how long and what the effects were. Where are those records?" Badger tells him the man behind the curtain they knocked out was the doctor and the information they need should be on his desk and in his electronic notebook. Mal looks at Zoe. "Go find all you can and see if there are any noises coming in from Badger's people." A short nod and she's gone. Jayne steps up to him and whispers. 

"Why don't I go ahead and take care of Badger? You know his people got to be on the way back. He gets loose we'll be in a world of trouble." Mal thinks about but shakes his head. 

"I promised Simon his revenge. We'll leave as soon as Zoe gets back." Whispers reach his ears as Simon and River talk but he doesn't try and listen in. Plenty of time for that later. Zoe's back, and she holds up some disks and a small notebook. Mal nods and clears his throat. Simon looks at him and for the first time since he's been back with them, he looks like his old self. It makes Mal fiercely glad that he never gave up on finding him, or getting him to remember his sister. 

"Time to go." He gives Badger a quick look and shifts his eyes back to Simon, silently asking him if he still wants to kill him. Even if he doesn't Mal will do it. He's too dangerous to leave alive. Besides Badger knowing one call will have the Alliance on them, if they leave him alive, most likely he will show up again to try and take someone else or kill them all. They've dealt him a big blow today and, knowing what he knows about Badger, the petty kingpin will not be able to let that insult go. 

Simon's gaze turns hard and cold and he gives Mal a quick nod. He turns back to his sister. "River? I want you to go with Zoe. We're going back to Serenity and we can talk then. I have something to take care of and I'll be right behind you. Okay?" She doesn't say anything, only looks at Simon then again at the rest of them. She seems to notice Badger for the first time. Her eyes grow as cold as Simon's as she gets up from her bed and walks over to him. One finger touches Badger gently on the forehead. 

"I told you the Piper would pay, and now it's time. You had your cake but won't get to eat it too. Death is waiting for you and he's greedy." 

The hairs on the back of Jayne's neck stand up, and he can see River's words have the same effect on Mal. For one brief moment, River meets his eyes and Jayne is reminded of some story he heard when he was younger. Something about a ghost and if you heard the ghost you were going to die. In this case the ghost was River and just seeing her was enough to sign Badger's death warrant. If she hadn't been here, they would have had to take him with them to make sure she would be where he said. River looks at Zoe and smiles. 

"Hello Zoe. I missed you. Your strength ran all over the ship and I used to try and walk where you walked to see if I could gather it up and let it rush through me." Zoe eyes her, nods and takes her arm. Mal gestures for Jayne to go with them. "We'll be about five minutes behind you. Start back to the docks and me and Simon will take the shuttle back." He nods and it's only him and Simon and Badger left in the room. He sees Simon look at the knife in his hand and wonders if Simon will really kill Badger. 

When Simon stands and walks up behind Badger, Mal lets his arm go. Wide, panicked eyes meet his and Mal only shakes his head. 

"You made your own trouble Badger." He backs up and leans up against the wall next to the open door of River's room. With his arms crossed and one knee bent he's relaxed, but alert to any sounds coming from the hallway. Simon holds on to one of Badger's arms and his other hand, with the knife is coming up to his throat, when Badger tries to fight. But the blood loss and pain from his missing finger make him weak and clumsy. Simon dodges his hasty back kick and lets his arm go. He punches him twice in the kidneys and follows Badger down to the floor. He straddles him and pulls his head back by his hair. 

Mal can hear Badger plead and cry and make all sorts of promises, but he's not interested, and neither is the young doctor. Simon leans on Badger's upper back, pinning his arms to his side. Mal hears his harshly whispered words. 

"I did promise you quick and though I'm tempted to skin you alive, I simply don't have the time." The knife slides across his throat and even as Badger feels the blood leaving his body he still can't accept it. His body feels light and lighter until an inky blackness rushes up to meet him. 

Mal stares at the doctor, his lover and his friend, as he watches the growing puddle of blood pour from Badger's throat. He stands and shifts away from the blood rapidly spreading across the floor. Mal doesn't say anything, just watches, when Simon wipes Jayne's knife on his black pants. He doesn't make a sound when Simon spits on the body and says something low in Latin. Hazel eyes meet his and Mal keeps his gaze steady. 

"You ready?" Mal wonders if his voice sounds as loud to Simon as it does to him. All he gets is a searching look and a nod and they're making their way out of Badger's offices and hallways and back to the shuttle. 

Mal figures there will be repercussions from some of Badger's people but he plans to put the word out on what Badger did. Selling people was bad enough in some eyes, taking from Malcolm Reynolds was even worse. Once certain facts were out among the people that had worked for Badger, they'd turn their attention to grabbing whatever piece of Badger's little world they could get their hands on. 

They make it back to the hidden shuttle and take off. By the time they make it to Serenity, Wash is ready for a quick takeoff. They break atmo as Mal and Zoe take stock of what they stole from Badger's warehouse. A few of the items look valuable and Mal knows a good fence that will give him platinum. He tells Wash to head for Doran City and then goes to the infirmary to check on River and Simon. 

The room is dark but River's old room has a light shining from it. He knocks and receives a quick invitation. River is sitting up in her bed, drinking something while arguing with Simon. He gets a smile from both of them, which he returns. 

"Hello, Captain. I missed you and your ship. I missed going outside and looking at the stars. Can I go outside again?" Mal sits down next to Simon on her bed. 

"Let's give you a few days to recover then, if it's okay with your brother, I'll take you out, okay?" River smiles and giggles. Holding up her brown cup, she looks up at Simon. 

"Did you know that man thought I would help him by telling him stuff about his enemies? I told him I wouldn't but sometimes I couldn't help it. The images in my head tumbled out and gleefully told him for me." She smiles at Mal. 

"I also told him my big brother was coming back for me and he'd be sorry. He didn't like my stories of what Simon would do to him so he didn't visit me as often." Simon smiles and rubs her arm as if trying to warm her. Mal can't see his face but knows Simon is frowning. "River, did he ever touch you in a...a bad way? Him or anyone else?" 

Mal waits for the answer, hoping at least one Tam made it through without being molested. She cocks her head to the side, studying Simon, making him and Mal wait. 

"No, he didn't. The doctor just felt sorry for me so he didn't do anything like that either. There was a guard or two that looked at me funny but they never came near me." Mal hears Simon exhale in relief. 

"Good, that's good. Would you like something to eat, or or drink?" She nods her head but looks at Mal. The look in her eyes beg him for privacy with her brother and with insight that's almost natural to him now, he knows she wants to talk to Simon about his time away from her. She knows what happened to Simon. Mal doesn't know what she'll be able to accomplish but she is his sister and knows him better than anyone. He announces he'll bring her some soup and something to drink and leaves. 

Kaylee and Book are in the galley talking and eating. They greet Mal and Kaylee asks about River. Mal tells her she seems to be okay, or at least like she was before. He pauses, then tells them she wasn't messed with like Simon. Book closes his eyes and offers up a brief prayer of thanks while Kaylee smiles. 

"That's wonderful news! I mean I know she's still sick but I didn't like thinking of her in the same situations Simon had been in." Mal nods his head, understanding what she's trying to say. For someone to buy and sell River for sexual purposes would have made them all more upset than discovering the same had been done to Simon. It was bad and horrible that it had been done, but Simon had strengths and a control of his mind that his sister did not. 

Mal knows that having River to look after will help Simon heal. He doesn't want to think about what he would be facing now if Badger had given them proof that River was dead or back in Alliance hands. He made a mental note to call off his two associates who made hacks and electronic backdoors into Alliance facilities every week trying to see if River was there. He was glad he could call them off, the stress of them getting caught was always at the back of his mind. 

He tells Kaylee she can visit River later or in the morning, and she agrees and then asks if they can look for some strawberries at their next stop. He laughs and pats her on the head, teasing her about her obsession with strawberries and telling her if they can find some, they'll be hers. He gathers the food and juice for River and makes his way to her room. 

Before he gets there he hears them. They're crying, but it's low and tinged with relief and regret and pain. Mal doesn't want to disturb them so he leaves the tray outside the door with only a brief knock to let them know it's there. 

He gives them an hour and comes back. The tray is empty and when he knocks on the thin door and opens it he sees River sleeping, her head in Simon's lap, his hand placed protectively in her hair while his back seems to be holding the wall up. His eyes open and look at him, and Mal thinks again that Simon looks normal, like he used to. He nods his head then points it toward the hallway and Simon shifts, moves River's head and gets up. Mal leans against the wall. 

"You feel better?" 

Simon puts his hands in his pocket and rocks back on his feet. "Yes, I feel better than I realized I would. I'm going to take a look at the stuff Zoe got from that doctor. See what they been feeding her, then determine if I can just stop giving it to her or if I have to wean her off of it." He looks back at the door to River's room and then shuffles his feet and looks at Mal. "I was going to do all of this in the infirmary. You trust me in there by myself?" 

Mal looks at the bandage still covering Simon's face and thinks about it. He wants to say yes, give Simon the benefit of the doubt and let him do what he wants around all those sharp instruments, but he can still smell Simon's blood and see it drip slowly off that scalpel. He takes Simon's arm and pulls him towards the infirmary. 

"I wish I could doc, but for my peace of mind, why don't I accompany you? You can change your bandage and I'll catch up on some business." He's glad Simon doesn't argue with him, and they work together silently for the next two hours. Dinnertime comes and Simon fixes a plate and eats in River's room, telling Mal he doesn't think she's ready to eat with everyone yet. 

* * *

Book knocks on the door to River's room before he goes to bed. At the near silent invitation he enters and sees Simon sitting on the bed talking to River. Book is relieved that Simon looks stronger. His emotions are no doubt still all over the place but he looks less likely to act wildly in front of the one person that needs him. 

"Hello River. I just wanted to say I'm glad to see you and hope you both will join us tomorrow." 

He receives almost identical stares of consideration before River whispers, "Thank you shepherd. I hope you can sleep better now." 

Book doesn't ask how River might know about his uneasy sleep this past year, how much he called himself all kinds of idiotic for not hitting the ground immediately and getting out of the way of that bullet. He'd even questioned his faith, wondering why he'd been saved and these two punished, punished even more by cruel circumstances and men. By the look on Simon's face he also knows that Book feels guilty but doesn't feel like he can offer him anything to make it easier. 

He nods. "Thank you, River. Goodnight you two." He heads for his room, nodding to the Captain when he passes him. 

Mal checks in on Simon and River. He watches them for a minute and then asks the question he's been thinking about all day. 

"You sleeping in here Simon?" He can read the indecision, fear and love in Simon's eyes. The love is for River, the fear is Simon's. Fear that he'll be alone with all his thoughts and nightmares because to burden River with them is not an option. The indecision in between wanting to comfort his sister and wanting comfort himself. He tries to tell Simon with his eyes that it's okay, he should sleep in here with his sister. She needs him and while Simon may think he needs Mal, deep down he doesn't. 

He leaves them and after a brief debate with himself, locks the infirmary doors. His room seems a little colder and emptier but he ignores it and lies down. He also ignores the fact that he tosses and turns for longer than he usually does. Finally he's pulled into sleep but it's not a restful one. It feels like he's waiting for something and, a few hours later when he hears his door creak open and footsteps on the ladder, his body relaxes that last small inch. Simon's head and hand find their place on his chest and Mal gives a small sigh, echoing one from Simon. 

Mal wakes before Simon and something he's been avoiding demands his attention before he can push it away. His caring of and for Simon is only a partial expression of his feelings. Somewhere, somehow, maybe even before they were kidnapped, he fell in love with him. Well, not fell, because Mal was not a man to let himself fall. Eased into love maybe or gently pushed. But he's here in a place he didn't expect to be, with emotions he doesn't really want. 

He loves Simon but that doesn't mean he gets to have him. His plan has always been to get Simon back on his feet, find River and then have his crew back similar to the way it was before. Now that he and Simon are more than he ever thought about didn't mean it can continue. If it does, Mal knows he will lose something that's helped him survive this long after the war. He shifts in the bed and, when he notices his hand rubbing up and down Simon's back, he pulls it away. 

It also takes two to have a relationship and he can't see why Simon will want anything from him once he's better. He needs something from him now and it expresses itself in intimacy but what about a few months down the road? And always in the back of his mind is the fact that he wonders if the two of them together will only slow Simon's recovery or that Simon just sees him as another master. He read somewhere that some people forced to act a certain way get so comfortable and safe within those parameters that they seek them out, healthy or not. 

Mal doesn't want that, he wants Simon to choose him for him not because he had to buy him or out of gratitude for bringing him back to Serenity. He doesn't want Simon to look at him as making all the decisions in this...whatever they have. Mal groans quietly. It seems that part of him wants Simon, to keep discovering more and more about him until he knows him like he knows himself. 

"You think too much Mal." 

He looks down at sleepy blue eyes. "How'd you know I was thinking?" Simon yawns and scoots up to rest his back against the wall. 

"Your body's giving off this hum. It's very subtle but it's there. I remember noticing it when I first came on board and that fed had the gun trained on both of us and he told you not to pick up your gun. I've noticed it a couple of other times too." 

"Huh, that's a little strange." 

Simon laughs and runs a hand through his own hair. "That's why I never mentioned it. It's like you're an engine in idle and any minute you're going to take off. Which is what usually happens." 

"Yeah, so you going to go check on your sister?" He wants a few more minutes of silence, wants to figure this out if it can be figured out. Simon studies him silently and Mal curses himself, knowing that now Simon is curious. 

"You want to talk about whatever you're thinking so hard about?" Mal's tempted. After all it does involve him but he wants to turn it over in his mind a little more. Look at it from different angles. 

"No, maybe later though." He uses a thumb to briefly caress Simon's jaw, the one without the white gauze on it. "Go ahead and see to your sister, see if she's up to eating in the galley and if not that's okay too. After that I'll unlock the infirmary and you can check your cut." Simon ducks his head, in what Mal hopes is regret for his stupid actions in cutting himself in the first place. 

"Aren't you going to ask?" 

Mal frowns, "Ask what?" Simon moves to the edge of the bed, his back to Mal. 

"About how I felt killing that shenjing hundan, for not letting him go." Mal scoots on the bed until he's sitting beside Simon on the bed. 

"Hadn't thought about it much, tell the truth. It needed to be done and if you didn't do it Jayne or I would have, Zoe too for that matter." Mal takes a deep breath, wondering if Simon's figuring it out. 

"He did what he did to you because of me. I mean he hated you because you were Core born and bred and had qualities he wanted very badly, but if he'd come upon you without any connection to me he might not have did what he did. Most likely he would have kept you as a doctor for hire that he could control, renting your services out to criminals." He straightens his back, meeting Simon's eyes. 

"But I think because you and River were part of my crew it made him more vicious. Badger was in the indenturing business, sure, but not into outright slavery, and you know if I'd even heard a rumor about him selling people to use for sex I would have never done business with him." He tore his gaze away from Simon. "I would have just destroyed him because of what he was doing, payment or no payment." 

He waits for Simon to say something. "'If I ever kill you, you'll be awake, you'll be facing me and you'll be armed.' Someone who tells me that, would tell me something similar if you wanted us off your ship." A small tremor goes through Mal's body when Simon presses a small kiss to his shoulder. 

"I won't lie to you. I was very angry for a long time. But looking back at one of the most terrifying experiences in my life, having to trust you to hide us well enough when that Alliance ship pulled us in over that derelict ship, I suspected you were not one to just leave us without a damn good reason. So I put it all in the back of my mind and just tried to survive." 

Mal's shocked. He doesn't know why, but he is. That had taken an enormous amount of trust on Simon's part, with him not knowing Mal all that well. He knows he would have never trusted anyone like that. Now the trust Simon has in him is different but no less important. He wants to believe he won't betray or ruin that trust. He looks, really looks at Simon and sees a remarkable man that's stronger than anyone knows. 

His eyes follow the length of the gold and leather collar surrounding Simon's neck. He's been abused and humiliated, but Mal knows he will be okay, that as big an obstacle as this is, Simon is up to the task of overcoming it. He needs Mal, just not in the way Mal thought he did. Mal kisses Simon quickly which is a mistake because the kiss becomes heated and slow. He finally pulls away and gets ready to face the day. 

"Go do what you need to do, I need to find us a job." Mal softens his command with a smile. Simon returns the smile and leaves. Throughout the day, he checks on Simon and River, makes contacts for their stolen goods and gets the word out about Badger. The responses Mal gets lets him know he was correct in how it's now going down. 

After a few grumbles about their boss the rest of Badger's employees were now trying to grab what they could. So far there were no hints of retaliation against him or his crew, but he'd keep an eye out for the next few months just to make sure. He and Wash argue briefly over the fastest way to get to their destination. Mal gives in and agrees with his pilot and the course is plotted to get them to a meeting in two days. 

* * *

Kaylee knocks on River's door and enters when a soft voice tells her to come in. She's nervous but determined not to show it or stress River out. She sits next to her on the bed and after a few minutes of greetings, Kaylee grabs River's hand and holds it in her own. 

"I missed you River. I know we didn't have that much of a chance to become friends before but I hope we can start over." River uses her other hand and pats their joined hands happily. 

"It's like little girl lost and alone. I'd wonder from time to time if you were still working your magic on Serenity. You have more than the gift of fixing things and even if you could fix me I wouldn't let you. It'd hurt too much." 

Kaylee frowns, trying to figure that out. She can't but maybe it will come to her later. All that matters is River wants to be friends and it's nice to have someone on board close to her own age. They both have different experiences and even though River is younger than her, she's been through more. Kaylee starts to tell River about this story she read a few months ago and River laughs in all the right places and asks Kaylee to find it for her so she can read it too. 

A quick knock and Simon opens the door. Kaylee brushes her hair behind her ears and smiles at him, hoping she's not blushing. She still thinks he so swai, but knows they will only be friends now and in the future. The Captain definitely gives off vibes when he and Simon are around each other. She knows it'd mortify him to know this and she plans to tease him about once he gets used to the fact that he likes Simon. 

Simon smiles at her and she can tell he's happy that River is smiling and laughing. "River, would you like to eat dinner in the galley? There's some stuff for sandwiches and some fresh fruit." River nods, and Kaylee tells Simon they will meet him there in a few minutes. When he leaves, Kaylee asks River if she wants help picking out something to wear. She agrees and they pick out a black skirt and gold and purple blouse. The skirt is a little loose and the blouse a little long, but Kaylee declares it's pretty and they walk together to the kitchen. 

Mal watches River at dinner and as far as he can tell, she seems pretty much how she was before. On one of his earlier trips to the infirmary Simon told him he'd have to wean her off the drugs given to her and that the notes from the other doctor were helping him. He also told Mal that some of the drugs might be helpful to him in treating her but what he really needed was a scan of River's brain. Mal ponders that thought because brain scans are not something you can just buy at a market stall. 

Jayne eyes River and Simon at dinner and decides it will take some time to get used to them again. He'd hated having them here at first, but he couldn't rule out the fact that a doctor was needed. Might as well be one that wasn't ever going to go to the authorities on them. River got on his nerves, but he felt sorry for her when he thought enough about it. 

Wasn't her fault she was like she was, and it must have helped her to have a brother that risked a hell of a lot to do what he did. River looks at him and winks and he shakes his head, thinking he's getting soft. 

Wash eats and talks and jokes with everyone, knowing no one but his wife is aware that he's worried about having the crew back the way it was before. It's not like he didn't want them both found but how do you talk to a man that was becoming a friend, but with a year of horror now in the way? 

He figures he'll just start over and try and get to know Simon all over again. River he never had much contact with but she was an okay kid. If being super smart and crazy could be seen as okay. 

Kaylee laughs at a joke Wash and Mal tell while trying not to send too many looks at River. She's busy with plans to get River healthier, well at least physically. She figures the paleness can be cured by letting River get off the ship, even if it was just right outside Serenity's cargo doors. She'd gain back some weight once she had some time back on the ship. 

Kaylee wonders if the Alliance is still looking for her with no reports coming in for a year. Be nice if they thought she was dead. Maybe she'll see what the Captain thinks about that fact. 

Dinner's done and it's Mal's turn to clean up. He makes quick work of it and tries not to groan and fidget when Kaylee, after waiting until it was just the two of them, gently teases him about Simon. 

"I'm glad he's got you Captain, and that you've got him. You make a cute couple." When he couldn't stop his face from turning red, she laughs and leaves. 

He walks the ship after everyone's down, then makes his way to his bunk. Simon's already there and he climbs in next to him and lets his hand make small gentle circles on his chest. Simon makes little grumbly noises that Mal plans to tease him about in the morning. 

The next day is pretty much the same. Badger's cargo is all divided up and Mal's got arrangements for two stops to get rid of it. He looks at Simon changing the gauze on his cheek and the swelling has gone down but not much. For the first time Mal kisses him outside of his bunk. Simon responds, almost shyly, and they stay like that for awhile, holding each other and sharing slow kisses. 

Epilogue 

Mal stares out at the rapidly darkening landscape, letting the warm breeze coming in from the nearby lake relax him. It's been two months since they rescued River, and their jobs have been pretty much what they were like before the kidnappings. He tried to make both Tams feel safe and give them a small measure of freedom off the ship when he could. So far there had been only one incident of River panicking. She still made off- putting remarks, but Mal somehow found that comforting. 

The drugs seemed to be almost out of her system, and yesterday they had found the equipment Simon had needed to get a look at the damage to River's brain. It'd been nice to find a good sized hospital that was run by people willing to turn their heads for a certain amount of cash. 

He doesn't react to the footsteps behind him but does glance at the man who comes up to stand beside him. Mal keeps it to himself, but Simon is a beautiful man. He was pretty before he was kidnapped, but now he's beautiful in a way only experience of life can give someone. The healed scar on his face doesn't distract from his appearance like Simon wanted it to. It only makes him look dangerous, almost like a wild animal that you want to pet but know better not to, unless you want to lose a body part. 

He sees people look at Simon the few times they've been out together. They look at his face, his body, and if Simon is in a mood they can spot the collared necklace that everyone knows proclaims him as kept. Sometimes he hides it, sometimes he doesn't, as if daring someone to say something or do something. Someone did once and it took Mal and Book to drag Simon off the man. 

After that Mal sat Kaylee down for a serious discussion about the collar. She told him what Simon already knew. It could possibly be removed but it had core of titanium beneath the leather that made it difficult. Most tools were not that reliable close to someone's neck. 

It bothers Mal but he knows it bothers Simon more. Tomorrow they had a lead on something that might get the collar off. He plans to tell Simon they can track down the man who put it on him, just to give it back to him. Maybe show this Killian how his blood looks. 

Mal waits for Simon to speak. They'd had a small argument last night about the fact that Mal never touched Simon sexually, unless Simon touched him first. They got some stuff out in the open about Mal being unwilling to do anything Simon would not be comfortable with. Simon had told him anything Mal did, he would like, so Mal had made love to him. He'd been nervous but Simon had told him he loved it, and him. It had been as close to a perfect night as Mal had had in a long time. 

Simon rubs his hand over Mal's back. "I'm okay, Mal. I told you I would be fine and I am." Mal grins and nudges Simon's shoulder. 

"I know and in the future I'll try to be the one to touch you first. That's all I can agree too." Simon nods and they both look out at the darkening landscape, no other ships close by. Mal touches Simon on the neck and brings him closer for a kiss. 

"Let's go to bed." Simon smiles and agrees. 

End Silent Chamber of the Soul 

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